1. One of the researchers here makes a good point: is anyone actually saying Churchill's statue should come down?
2. I can see a lot of annoyance at the 'left' there in comments. What should never be forgotten is that the basic aim of the left is to make life better for the majority of people, to make society work for the 99%. That IS the actual aim, even if you dont like some methods or wish to focus on negative aspects. The fact that, along the way, some silly things are done, some people focus too much on X aspect, and that authoritarian elements creep in, etc...does not make the basic aim invalid or negative.
Most left wingers are not authoritarian in approach, they are open to debate and reasonable in consideration of issues. Those who call themselves left but act in authoritarian ways (along gender or race or environmental or any other lines), are, as Orwell said in the 1940s when he wrote against blind USSR supporters, acting against the basic aims of the left. Solution to that is not to damn the left altogether, but try to get it, and us all, moving in a better direction. Characterised by developing the tendency to think for ourselves, to analyse critically, to act according to evidence, to treat everyone with respect (all people, of any gender, ethnicity, age, class etc - and even on social media!). All as part of the basic aim of making society better!
3. The aim of people who focus on such statues or the historical figures is NOT to forget history or to pretend it did not happen or to change what happened. Its a total waste of time by anyone who opposes their actions to say that this is what they aim for. The aim, even if badly expressed or communicated, is to express a disagreement with the actions and ideas of these past people, to say they do not reflect our current values, and to say that we should not celebrate those people now with public money or in public displays or festivals etc as if what they did and thought is completely fine and unproblematic. That, at the very least, a more balanced account should be given, especially in schools, festivals and on public monuments, by the addition of further information reflecting current values or further research.
Or, some think various statues should be taken down from public places, for the same reasons as above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg-jFXv4cMo